Always well-intentioned, not always sane.

In The Clear

This weekend my parents came up to watch the kids and our four! pets and even the fish, as Craig and I headed up to Excelsior Springs to enjoy some R&R at The Elms hotel. And it was FABULOUS. The hotel is historic and gorgeous, and every little detail was perfect. There is a brand new spa area called the Grotto, which included dry and steam saunas, hots baths, steam showers, and cold showers along with the most comfortable lounger I have ever sat in. It was heaven. Followed by an amazing dinner and unusual cocktails from the pre-prohibition era, which were strong enough to ensure that I had absolutely zero problems with insomnia! There was also the most unusual lap pool hidden away in the very lowest level of the hotel, it was built around columns and was shaped like a compressed O. You could literally swim laps in circles with no flip turns required. Hard to describe, but I’ve never seen anything like it. There was a gorgeous heated pool outside as well which was unfortunately closed, but we did enjoy the outdoor hot tub. It is just a fabulous get-away hotel and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone in Kansas City. Less than and hour drive, but it feels worlds away from home.

Unfortunately we had to follow all of the relaxation and indulgence with a trip to KU Med for a CT scan and appointment. I definitely was not looking forward to it and the CT scan was not the best. They couldn’t get an IV going, called in an IV “team” and she told me confidently that she does nothing besides IV’s all day long. She couldn’t get one going either so they used a machine to find a vein and guide in the IV. I was feel a little woozy by this point as the missed attempts in my hand didn’t feel so hot, and I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. 40 minutes after the first attempt I was finally able to go in for the scan. I did fine on the first few passes but when they added the iodine contrast to the IV, I was ready to puke. I made it through and spent another twenty minutes afterwards with a barf bag getting my blood sugar and blood pressure taken. The IV nurse commented jokingly that she didn’t want to see me again, and I told her “Ditto!”. Only I can turn a ten minute procedure into an hour plus of ridiculous.

Thankfully, I’m not going to need to worry about another contrast CT again for a very long time. At least not for this, because my results were CLEAR!!! Dr. Schnayder felt confident that after a clear scan we don’t need to rescan next year, there is almost NO chance of this tumor coming back. Hallelujah! I was overjoyed and had this huge goofy grin as she told me that everything looked great- the scar, my nerves, my facial muscles. There is absolutely no sign I ever had this surgery. I can tell you, I read a lot about parotid tumors during this time, and joined a number of support groups and my results are definitely not the norm. I had SUCH a good surgeon, and I feel like I’m bragging but I am just thrilled by how well this has turned out. One more clinical check next year (which is nothing) and I can more or less pretend this never happened. Doesn’t get much better than that!

And tonight kicks off the Quilt Bootcamp 2013 “class” that I am “teaching” to a group of friends. I am so excited to share my love of sewing with others and can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with. It’s going to be fun!

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